Chapter 25

"I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have/And cannonball into the water/I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have/For you I will for you I will." –For You I Will (Confidence), Teddy Geiger, UNDERAGE THINKING

"You know your wedding is tomorrow?" Eliena asked a week later. Alanna looked at her mother.

"Yes," she replied.

"Does Jonathan?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what your dress looks like?"

"Eleni Cooper made it for me. She was working on it before I left."

"And you didn't consult me?"

"No, mother, I didn't. I knew what I wanted and that was it." Eliena was silent.

"May I see it?" Alanna went to her dressing room wordlessly and produced a white gown.

The gown would sit just off her shoulders, with a modest neckline. The bodice was fitted, even on the hanger, and had tiny, sparkling beads in a pattern Eliena couldn't recognize. The skirt was full and blossoming, with small beads to catch the light. Alanna raised a glowing violet hand in front of the dress and shot a stream of violet fire into it. Eliena gasped, then noticed the beads had taken on a strange color. They shone different colors, and Eliena now saw that the bodice had a rearing cat on it- a lioness rampant- and the skirt's beads outlined imaginary frills. The beads kept changing color, making the dress magical. Alanna grinned and ran a hand over the dress. The colors stopped and Alanna hung the dress back up.

"Is that your frills compromise?" Eliena teased.

"Of course," Alanna replied.

"How did you get that to work?" her mother wanted to know.

"I asked Eleni if she could work it for me. The beads only respond to my magic, and I can set them at a certain color if I wish. But I like the different colors. Jonathan adores it," Alanna replied with a smile. "So is my gown acceptable?"

Eliena hugged her daughter. "I believe so, sweet. And I hope you will pass it through your family, because that looks expensive."

Alanna laughed. "It wasn't. Eleni is my friend, and her son is one of my best friends. She gave me a special deal, as long as I magicked the beads."

"Well, it is a lovely dress, Alanna. I only wish you had told me," Eliena remarked.

"I'm sorry, mother, I really am," Alanna told her, giving her mother a hug. Suddenly, there were tears in Alanna's violet eyes. "I just can't believe that tomorrow is my last day with you."

"I know, sweet, I know," Eliena said, stroking Alanna's hair as she cried. "The time went by too fast."

"I wish I hadn't gone to get the Jewel. Then I would've had more time," Alanna sobbed into her mother's shoulder.

"Shh, Alanna. Shh, baby. It's all right. You know I'll watch over you," Eliena whispered. "I have been for nineteen years."

"But it won't be the same. I'm old enough to know what's going on this time when you die! I won't be able to stand it, mother!" Alanna exclaimed.

"Oh, Alanna," Eliena said. "It's all right, sweet. Just imagine I'm here with you. And, besides, you and Jonathan will be so wrapped up in each other, you'll barely notice I'm gone."

"No, mother. Don't think that," Alanna pleaded. "I'll always remember you. Always." Eliena smiled.

"You say that now, sweet, but in a year or so, when you're pregnant with your first child, you'll wonder who I am." Alanna shuddered.

"Maybe in three years. I don't plan on getting pregnant until I have some time alone with Jonathan," Alanna said.

"With Jonathan becoming king within a week of your marriage, I don't know how much alone time you two are going to get." Alanna nodded.

"I know what you mean. But we'll work it out… somehow."

Author's Note- this is TECHNICALLY now on hold. Wedding scene will need a long time to be written. Read "Lady Alanna and the Prince" for fast updates. Rushing to get another chapter up on aforementioned story. Blows kisses REVIEW